


Scaleskin

by OneKerfuffle



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Also a bit of my own worldbuilding thrown in, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Kinda, M/M, Merman Yuuri, Selkie Mythology inspiration, Thief Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 00:11:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9690419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneKerfuffle/pseuds/OneKerfuffle
Summary: Beware dry land, little ones, and those who walk there. The Sea can not protect you if you leave her.





	

_ “There once was an immortal maiden of the sea, her beauty wondrous to behold. She was built in form like the prettiest lass on the land save her legs were wrapped in scales, the ornament of the briny sea. Her hair was the color of the blackest night sky and strung with pearls that shone like soft stars, her eyes bluer than the ocean’s heart. Her scales, they say, were the gentlest shade of pink, pale as the shells of the sea and blossoms of the land. They flashed and flickered when she swam, and all the ocean was in love with its fair princess. _

_ And a princess she was, by the name of Hotaru: the only and beloved daughter of the Sea King, who guarded her more fiercely than any jewel. The pride of the underwater kingdom, she grew in beauty and grace, tutored in singing and language, in everything refined and delicate, making her the gentle and obedient daughter her father wished her to be. Or, for a time she was such. But as she grew, there bloomed a longing in her soul for adventure, and whenever she could be spared from the dreary lessons forced upon her she would chase after it with abandon. _

_ Her father attempted to reign her in as best he could, trying and failing to keep her in the bounds of the court, and when the time had come (as he saw fit) the princess was introduced to the princes, at least one from each of the seven seas who came to pay their respects on her 16th birthday. _

_ By and by she did fall in love, but not with any merman in her father’s court. There was a sailor, found by she amidst the wreckage of a sinking ship. Taking pity on the poor soul, the princess pulled him to shore, but he was already close to death and even as he lay in her arms upon the beach he began to fade. _

_ Now, mermaids are magical creatures, beloved of the Ocean, their mother, and blessed with powers to heal and revive. It is trapped in their scales, but very powerful; when taken forcibly it can break, healing what is intended by the thief but causing so much pain to the mermaid it was taken from that they often die themselves. If given freely however, out of love and generosity, the ocean takes no toll and heals with harm to none and will continue to do so forevermore. For the Ocean was the greatest Mother of all, and from her bosom did all life find its way. _

_ Hotaru was the kind who would let no creature suffer if she could help it, and so from her tail she pulled a single scale and placed it over the dying man’s heart. There, it fused to his skin, and the ocean’s magic was given to the man, the grace of its healing saving him from the cusp of oblivion.  _

_ By the time the man awoke, Hotaru had shed her tail for her land legs and made sure her scaleskin was well hidden in that cove (for they cannot be too far from the ocean).  She wanted to be sure the man made it home safely and so traveled with him, but by the time that journey was over they were already deeply in love _

_ The man was enamored with her, the lovely sea maid had held sway over his heart from the first moment he had beheld her and so he took her into his home, his life, and showed her all the joys of a life on the land. For several weeks she did abide upon the land, so awash in the glow of new love that she became forgetful of the life she had left behind. Though a piece of her heart would always belong to the ocean, she told the man she would stay with him when he asked her to be his wife. _

_ Before they could wed, Hotaru insisted that she must return to the sea once more to say goodbye to her family.  _

_ “I must ease their minds, my love, and then I shall bring my tail to you and happily be your wife.”  _

_ It was this assurance that eased his heart, which was heavy at the thought of being parted from his love. When taken far from the sea, a mermaid’s tail loses its tie to the ocean and instead binds the mermaid to its owner, and the man took this as a sign of her love and fidelity. Because he could deny her nothing he let her go with a kiss and said, “I will wait for you, my love, and while you are away in the sea I will send my love to you through the sky.” _

_ And wait he did, each night sending a lantern into the sky to light her way back to him. But Hotaru never returned, because mermaids are too like the ocean from which they come. They love deeply, powerfully, but are as changeable as a storm. No human can make a lasting mark upon the ocean and so, without the scaleskin, no man can keep a mermaid’s heart. She returned to the ocean and was turned again by the unknown wonders there, and the man whose heart she stole lit a lantern every night for the rest of his life.” _

 

And that, certainly is the tale that children hear in the kingdom by the sea…under the water though, little merlettes hear quite a different version.

 

_ “The humans of the land are not to be trusted. The ones that think to sail our seas are the most dangerous, hunters of merfolk and thieves of the Magic of the Sea. They snare us with their nets, they pierce us with iron hooks, and they take our scales for their own gain, seeking to live forever. Even the beautiful ones will hurt you. Beauty in humans does not make them kind like us, it makes them vain and selfish and cruel.  They have no pity and no respect for the freedom of beautiful things. Even the Princess Hotaru was stolen away and never seen again. _

_ She gave a scale to a human to save his life and he lured her far from the shore with promises of love and adventure.  She did not hide her skin well enough, you see, and even when she escaped and tried to return to the sea, she realized it had been taken by the man’s accomplices. They snatched her from the very beach she had saved the man on, and even as she screamed and ran for the safety of the water, they carried her off to their stronghold on the land. _

_ Her scales were taken, one by one and Hotaru, who was so sweet and so strong, lived a captive, suffering for many years, hurts unimaginable, all because she trusted a human. She died too far from the sea, and her longing cries for it were the last sounds she ever breathed. _

_ Beware dry land, little ones, and those who walk there. The Sea can not protect you if you leave her.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya so this is entirely the fault of axona and us watching disney movies while working on a YuriYuu together. 
> 
> Basically my first stab at solo-writing fanfiction more that 500 word drabbles sooooo feedback is encouraged and appreciated. Comments here are great or hit me up @till-kingdom-come on Tumblr


End file.
